Jordan (population 5,329,000 million)¹ is a country in the Middle East northwest of Saudi Arabia. It covers an area of 92,300 square kilometres. Mostly landlocked (apart from 26 km bordering the Gulf of Aqaba) its boundaries border Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the Palestinian West Bank.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy. King Hussein ruled from 1953 until his death in 1999, when he was succeeded by his eldest son King Abdullah. In 1989 King Hussein re-instituted parliamentary elections and gradual political liberalization. In 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel ending many years of conflict. Since his succession, King Abdullah has continued with political reforms and has instigated progressive reforms in the economy and health care system.

According to the United Nations human development index (HDI), Jordan is ranked 90/177 countries worldwide (value 0.750).² This places Jordan in the group of countries with medium human development.